Big Brother, they tore you away from home.
You had two months left to live for free.
Enough time to marry your girlfriend,
Enough time to say goodbye.
But not nearly enough time at all.

Big Brother, they sent you to the heart of battle.
Lives were claimed left and right in the never-ending fight for “freedom.”
One, two, the skyline bathed in a crimson hue.
Three, four, the blast shook them to their core.
Five. Five men dead in a matter of months—from there the story nose-dives.

Big Brother, they nearly killed you.
Running missions all day and all night;
Sleep is a foreign thing now.
Lack of sleep creates lack of attention.
Your group is attacked,
But you are the one who is still in pain.

Big Brother, they don’t care about us.
Wives driven to insanity and hospitalized;
Siblings depressed, missing their other half;
Parents plagued by worry that their son will die.
Families become victims helpless from the pain.

Big Brother, they’ve kept you away for a year.
Dates keep getting pushed back, prolonging your return.
Still we fear they’ll send you back again.
Will you finally get lucky and be allowed to live?

Big Brother, you’ll never be the same.
You’ve seen the horrors of death;
Your eyes have lost their twinkle.
Will we be getting you back,
or just a shell of what you once were?

Big Brother, we’re losing this war.
The casualties are higher than they let on—
Soldiers die inside, the disease spreading to loved ones.
War can only bring heartache and destruction.

Big Brother, they did kill you.
I watch you crying, though you don’t see me.
“It’s my burden,” you tell us, refusing to talk about it.
You’re crushed by the weight of the world.

A/N: This doesn’t make much sense, but I needed to write it. I went to an army family meeting yesterday. Boy, that went well. (Sarcasm)

Just one more month to go until my brother’s home though, hopefully more alive than I made him sound in this poem.

Suggestions are welcome, reviews are love.